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Members of the media, left, attend a joint Italian-U.S. authorities' press conference on an anti-Mafia blitz with numerous arrests reported on both sides of the Atlantic, at Rome's National Anti-Mafia headquarters, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2014. Italian anti-Mafia police said the "New Bridge" operation targeted a new cocaine trafficking route from South America to the southern Italian port of Gioia Tauro that united the U.S. branch of the Sicilian Mafia with the Calabrian 'ndrangheta crime syndicate. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)

FILE - This 2010 photo shows an aereal view of the Gioia Tauro port, southern Italy. On Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2014, a joint Italian-U.S. anti-Mafia blitz is underway with numerous arrests reported on both sides of the Atlantic. Italian anti-Mafia police said the "New Bridge" operation targeted a new cocaine trafficking route from South America to the southern Italian port of Gioia Tauro that united the U.S. branch of the Sicilian Mafia with the Calabrian 'ndrangheta crime syndicate. (AP Photo/Adriana Sapone, file)

Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Italian police raided two organized crime organizations Monday night with the purpose of breaking up a new drug smuggling route from Latin America to Europe.

CBS News reported the Italian operation focused on breaking up routes in the southern Italian port of Goia Tauro, which connected the Italian Mafia's 'Ndrangheta crime syndicate with the U.S. Sicilian Mafia.

A similar raid in the New York area targeted members of the Gambino and Bonnano crime families, according to the report. Seven arrests were made by the FBI.

The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York said those arrested will face charges of "narcotics trafficking, money laundering and firearms offenses. Those charges, in part, stem from a transnational heroin and cocaine trafficking conspiracy involving the ‘Ndrangheta, one of Italy’s most powerful organized crime syndicates."

Seventeen members and associates of the 'Ndrangheta’ syndicate were arrested in the Italian raid, according to the report.

“The defendant Lupoi sought to use his connections with both ‘Ndrangheta and the Gambino crime family to extend his own criminal reach literally around the globe," U.S. Attorney Loretta Lynch said in the statement. “Today, thanks to the vigilance and sustained cooperation of the Department of Justice and its law enforcement partners in Italy, the ‘Ndrangheta’s efforts to gain a foothold in New York have been dealt a lasting blow.”

The Italian raid involved nearly 150 police officers in as many as 20 locations in the suburbs and villages around Goia Tauro, which is one of the largest shipping ports in Europe.

Authorities were after as many as 26 suspects, including a member of the notorious New York-based Gambino crime family who is accused of negotiating the new smuggling route, CBS News reported.